System and method for editing image data for media repurposing

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a system and method which allow for the automatic cropping and file generation of images from an existing image for display on multiple devices. An image, such as a video image, is provided to an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Next a mask or plurality of masks representative of different displays are applied to the image. The mask can be moved such that the content author can display an area of interest in the desired device. Once the mask is in place a crop is generated based on the mask. As frames are advanced the mask may be moved as the area of interest moves. Again a crop is made based on the mask. Once completed a file of the images is generated for each device represented by the mask that is displayable for the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to co-pending and commonly assigned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/512,567, filed Aug. 30, 2006, entitled“IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON VISIBLE REGIONS IN PURPOSING MEDIA FORTARGETED USE”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to media developmentenvironments, and, more specifically, to editing image data for mediarepurposing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In today's information-driven world, it is often desirable to presentinformation in various different media. “Media” or “medium” as usedherein, refers to any mechanism for presenting content. Examples ofmedia include non-electronic media such as paper, etc on which contentmay be presented (e.g., content may be printed, painted, or otherwisepresented on such non-electronic media). A further example of mediaincludes electronic media, such as electronic devices operable todisplay content stored on a computer readable medium, etc. Contentrefers to any type of information that may be present on a media, suchas images (still, moving, video, etc), text, etc.

Content created by a content author, such as a designer, developer,programmer, graphic artist, and the like, may be created specificallyfor presentation on multiple different devices or in multiple differentformats. These different displays and formats may have several differentpresentation variables, such as display size, aspect ratio, resolution,size, pixel shape and size, and the like. The content author wouldgenerally create, reshape, or recreate the content for each differenttargeted format.

Content may also have been originally created for print or fortraditional broadcast media or used in print, but later thought to beuseful for use or presentation in different ways, such as on a computerscreen, mobile phone screen, electronic time varying display, or thelike. In creating this print content, it may have been created orprinted specifically for a certain size, such as letter size. However,it may also be useful for presentation on postcard-size paper, A4 paper,PAL, NTSC, or the like, or in a different media type entirely, such ason a standard computer screen, mobile phone, electronic time varyingdisplay, or the like. In order to repurpose this content, contentauthors typically reshape or reformat the original layout to meet thesize or layout restrictions of the new, targeted use, device, or mediatype. This process is significantly compounded when repurposing video asthousands of individual frames must be considered.

Creation and modification of such content is typically accomplishedusing computers and graphics design or page layout applications, such asAdobe Systems Incorporated's ACROBAT®, PAGEMAKER®, ILLUSTRATOR®,FREEHAND®, FRAMEMAKER®, FLASH®, AFTER EFFECTS®, PREMIERE PRO®,DREAMWEAVER®, GOLIVE®, Microsoft Corporation's FRONTPAGE®, and the like.The user generally creates, copies, opens, or scans the content into thedevelopment area and graphically generates or manipulates the contentand layout to fit the desired target size or specific media presentationaspect for the targeted use. For example, if a company desires to createmarketing pamphlets in various paper sizes and also for display on itswebsites, the author would create the graphics and other content for thepamphlet in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as one ofthe design applications noted above, and then manipulate the graphics ofthe pamphlet to make it fit onto the desired target size or device in apleasing or logical manner. Similar approaches are made when using orconverting vide images. The author would generally use multiple editingsessions resulting in multiple files to accommodate all of the intendedtarget formats. The resulting content would then be printed, stored, orplaced into whatever other kind of medium or format for which it wasintended.

Another relevant example is the purposing, i.e., creation orrepurposing, of content for electronic devices, including personalcomputers (PCs), and mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media devices, such asApple Computer Inc.'s IPOD®, Creative Technology Ltd.'s ZEN VISION™,iRiver Inc.'s CLIX™, and the like. As these electronic devices becomemore rich media capable, they become a natural place to consume timevarying, interactive, and rich media information. Therefore, contentauthors are involved in creating new and repurposing existing contentspecifically for certain target electronic devices, such as targetmobile electronic devices. Typically, content authors will makedecisions on the layout, presentation, or format of information on a perdevice basis. With so many devices having multiple differentpresentation variables (e.g., different display sizes, etc.), there is aconsiderable amount of time designing and then fitting the designedcontent for multiple devices.

The wide variety of aspect ratios and resolutions available acrossvarious media today, and, in particular, across mobile phones and othermobile devices creates an enormous number of variations for any contentthat is intended to reach multiple media devices. Because a developerpurposing content for multiple media devices would generally createseveral hundred different variations of the content, content creationand repurposing is a very repetitive process that can be very tediousand time consuming. The potential costs to purposing content may,therefore, limit the amount of such authoring that is done and, as aresult, reduce the potential benefit that new consumers may have inusing content in multiple, different media. Moreover, the timeconstraints involved in bringing content to the market may result incoarse design decisions being made which may produce an inconsistentquality of information and content display. This approach to handlingmany target formats authors typically make single sets of decisions formultiple target devices. Such coarsely designed content may be too largeor too small for a useful or pleasant user experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention and its various representative embodiments aredirected to systems, methods and computer program products that provideediting tools for content authors to use the various purposing masks toedit image data for media repurposing. Further, features of the presentinvention allow for the automatic cropping (or other manipulations) andfile generation of images from an existing image for display on multipledifferent media or media types.

Briefly, as disclosed in co-pending, commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/512,567, Attorney Docket No. B266, entitled“IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON VISIBLE REGIONS IN PURPOSING MEDIA FORTARGETED USE”. A content author may begin the design process byelectronically sketching the content in a development environment. Acontent author typically makes creative decisions with a specific formatin mind. For example, in order to make the design process moreefficient, the author may use a mask that allows him or her to see thevisual dimensions of the various presentation variables for the targetmedia. The author will either create a mask or use a pre-built mask foreach mobile device with a separate mask for each device having differentpresentation variables. The mask is then used as a layer over thecontent. Part of the mask is typically translucent or opaque, whichrepresents the space outside of the usable display space on the mobiledevice. A portion in the center of the mask typically shows the visiblespace available on the device. In this manner, when the user lays themask over the content, he or she is able to see what will generally beviewable by a person using that particular mobile device. Any part ofthe content that ends up behind the translucent or opaque section willbe content that a user of that particular device would not typically beable to see. The developer may then make the necessary modifications tothe content design to fit into the visible display area. Typically, theuser either changes the content to make it fit the mask, or changes thecrop/mask area on top of the content.

In order to keep track of the various masks and the associated formatsthat each mask represents, the user or developer typically relies onmemory or customized names of either the mask or the layer in which themask is placed. When working to purpose information into only a fewdifferent target formats, the ability to keep track of which masksrepresent the various target formats is relatively straight forward.However, when dealing with the purposing of information into tens oreven hundreds of different target formats, keeping track of the variousmasks is extremely complicated, if not impossible in a single purposingsession. A considerable amount of time is lost by repeating thepurposing process with manageable groups of masks. This time expensewould likely affect how many target formats are used for content to bepurposed into. Thus, reducing the potential reach of information.Further, many times the same purposing mask represents a number ofdifferent devices that use different file formats. Thus in order tocreate the file for each device the author would have to generate thecorrect file format for each device separately,

The present invention is directed to a system and method which allow forthe automatic cropping and file generation of images from an existingimage for display on multiple devices. An image, such as a video image,is provided to an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Next a maskor plurality of masks representative of different displays are appliedto the image. The mask can be moved such that the content author candisplay an area of interest in the desired device. Once the mask is inplace a crop is generated based on the mask. For content that comprisesmultiple frames (e.g. video data), as frames are advanced the mask maybe moved as the area of interest moves. Again a crop is made based onthe mask. Once completed an edited file of the content is generated foreach target device represented by the mask.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating a content purposing lifecycle;

FIG. 2A shows a screenshot illustrating a content purposing systemconfigured according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows a screenshot illustrating the content purposing systemconfigured according to one embodiment of the present invention havingadded a purposing mask;

FIG. 2C shows a screenshot illustrating the content purposing systemconfigured according to one embodiment of the present invention havingadded another purposing mask;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating an IDE configured according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating example steps executed toimplement one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A-5H show screen shots illustrating the placement and movement ofpurposing masks according to embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a computer system adapted to use embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating content purposing lifecycle10. Content takes on many different forms and is represented in manydifferent media or target formats. Such content may be presented onvarious media, such as print media, such as page 101 or postcard 107;computer media, such as computer 102, which may be electronic images ora complex Rich Internet Application (RIA); television content, such asthe content displayed on television 103; mobile device content, whichmay be displayed on mobile phones 104-105 and PDA 106; three-dimensionalcontent, such as hologram image 108 and block sculpture 109. Content,thus, is any type of information that is eventually presented in aphysical or sensory manner, whether through electronic devices ornon-electronic devices (e.g. physical material). As used herein below,medium (media or other derivation) refers to the device upon which thecontent is presented to a user.

In exemplary operation, a content author desires to create content formobile phones 104 and 105 and also for PDA 106. Instead of working withthree different content files that are specifically targeted for each ofthe devices, the content author selects to display masks representingmobile phones 104 and 105 and PDA 106 on to the design area of an IDEimplementing content purposing process 100. For example, one such maskmay provide a shaded region surrounding a clear region that representsthe viewable area on the display of mobile phone 104, while the othermasks provide similar transparent and translucent regions representingthe viewable areas on mobile phone 105 and PDA 106. With each of themask's transparent region intersecting into a common transparent region,the author may create the content to fit within the visible displayareas of each of mobile phones 104 and 105 and PDA 106 by drafting thecontent within that common transparent region. Optionally, the contentauthor may choose to include the majority of the content in the commontransparent region, but allow some of the content to enter theoverlapped translucent regions of selected ones of the target devices.For example, the author may design the content to fit squarely withinthe visible region of PDA 106, but allow some of the content to extendinto the translucent regions of mobile phones 104 and 105. Thisextending of the content beyond the visible screen region of mobilephones 104 and 105 may require the user of those mobile phones to use ascrolling function to view the entire content.

Use of such masks and exemplary development applications that providethe masks are described in more detail in co-pending, commonly assigned,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/512,567, Attorney Docket No. B266,entitled “IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON VISIBLE REGIONS IN PURPOSING MEDIAFOR TARGETED USE”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. Thus, according to certain embodiments of thepresent invention masks may be provided into the IDE.

During the purposing process the user may desire to view informationcorresponding to a mask or group of masks that are present in the IDEThis information may include information such as devices associated withthe mask, demographic information related to the users associated withthe devices, etc. This information can be used by the user in makingdecisions and/or understanding the impact a particular purposingoperation may have on the viewers of the media.

In purposing content for mobile devices, such as mobile phones 104-105,several mobile phone displays may share the same or similar sizingrequirements. Thus, purposing content for 20 different mobile phones maynot require the creation of 20 differently-sized pieces of content. Afew differently-sized files may be used to provide content to all 20 ormore mobile device displays.

In other circumstances, there may be content that is originallypresented in a first medium that a content author desires to purpose foruse in new medium. For example, if a content author desires to purposethe graphics content of a computer application that runs on computer 102to adequately display on mobile phones 104-105 and PDA 106, he or shemay use content purposing process 100 to crop, modify, and the like, thegraphics content and user interface (UI) graphics to fit onto thescreens of mobile phones 104-105 and PDA 106. In content purposingprocess 100, which is configured according to one embodiment of thepresent invention, the author may display the application graphics ontoa design screen and select multiple purposing masks that were generatedto show what portion of the application graphics will fit in the viewingarea of the particular mobile device. The user of the development systemmay select to layer this purposing mask on top of the applicationgraphics. Any of the graphics that remain visible through thetransparent region would, therefore, be visible when presented on mobilephone 104. The user then either modifies, crops, or performs any othersuch editing on the images to accommodate the display size of mobilephone 104.

Additionally, the user could select to layer purposing masks that showthe visible screen area for mobile phone 105 and PDA 106 on top of themask representing the visible area of mobile phone 104. In this process,the user can see the visible display area that is common to all ofmobile phones 104-105 and PDA 106. If the user desires to make a singlecontent (e.g. application) that will be viewable on each of mobilephones 104-105 and PDA 106, he or she could then crop or modify thecontent (e.g. application and UI graphics), or copies thereof, to fit inthe common visible regions. In other approaches the user may makedecisions that are optimal on one device and acceptable on otherdevices. For example, the user can choose a well framed shot on thephone with the largest field of view, but still have both full headsframed on those with narrower frames.

Content purposing may also be conducted in three-dimensions (3D) withphysical items, such as block sculpture 109. Purposing 3D content maycomprise representing the content in another target 3D media, such asanother physical item, a holographic image, an orthographic projection,or some other kind of 3D perspective projection. In operation, a contentauthor may scan or draw an electronic, 3D representation of blocksculpture 109 into an IDE that implements content purposing process 100.The content author may then select the type and size of target mediumdesired, and a purposing mask or masks that represent those selectedtarget medium would be layered on top of the scanned or drawn content.In the described example, the content author desires to create ahologram and a postcard that includes the image of block sculpture 109.Masks for both target medium and presentation variables would be layeredon top of the scanned or drawn image of block sculpture 109, with thepart of the image visible through the intersection of the transparentportions of the masks being the common region visible in both targetmediums. The user may then crop, modify, rescale, or perform some othertype of editing of the image to fit the resulting content into thetarget medium, i.e., hologram image 108 and postcard 107.

It should be noted that content purposing process 100 may be used topurpose content for any target formats, either through creating newcontent or repurposing existing content. It should further be noted thatwhen operating content purposing process 100 with 3D content, some 3Dmasks may be created from certain two-dimensional (2D) masks byextending the 2D mask into a 3D representation through an orthographicor other perspective projection.

When purposing content for some target forms of medium, such aselectronic media (e.g., mobile devices), the target devices are notalways uniform in display-size or resolution. Because there is nouniformity, multiple variations of purposed content are typicallycreated in order to conform to each of the presentation variables of thevarious target devices, such as display size, aspect ratio, density,pixel shape, resolution, and the like. Alternatively, a content authorcould select to purpose content to a certain single set of presentationvariables, but do so in such a fashion that would accommodate the mostdevices possible. In other words, fewer versions of the content may becreated if one or more of the versions are created (or purposed) suchthat they are suitable for presentation on multiple different devicetypes (e.g. having different presentation variables).

FIG. 2A is a screenshot illustrating content purposing system 20configured according to one embodiment of the present invention. Contentpurposing system 20 is implemented through IDE 200. IDE 200 uses typicalinterface features, such as tool panels 202-205, property inspector 206,and design canvas 201. For purposes of this example, a content authordesires to purpose content 21 from one media for use on devices 104-106(FIG. 1). The author begins by placing content 21 onto design canvas201. Using a pull-down menu or one of tool panels 202-205, the authorselects to purpose content 21 to a mobile device and selects the actualmobile phone device model, such as a Motorola RAZR® which has a displaysize that has been associated with device group 104 (FIG. 1). Onceselected, purposing mask 207, which represents device group 104, islayered on top of content 21. Purposing mask 207 provides translucentregion 208 and transparent region 209 that represents the displaydimensions and presentation variables of device group 104 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 2B is a screenshot illustrating content purposing system 20configured according to one embodiment of the present invention havingadded purposing mask 210. After selecting purposing mask 207, thecontent author accesses the tools menu again to select the purposingmask that represents a mobile phone in device group 105 (FIG. 1), i.e.,purposing mask 210. Purposing mask 210 is then layered on top ofpurposing mask 207 within IDE 200. Because device group 105 (FIG. 1) hasa different display size and different presentation variables,transparent region 209 for purposing mask 207 is partially obscured bytranslucent region 216, which surrounds transparent region 211representing the visible region of device group 105 (FIG. 1). Theoverlapping transparent regions produce common region 215. The part ofunderlying content 21 that shows through common region 215 is the partof content 21 that would be visible on both mobile phones 104 and 105(FIG. 1). The overlapping translucent regions also provide the authorwith visible cues as to what portions of content 21 are commonly notvisible, and what portions may be visible on one device group but notthe other device group. Single overlap region 212 shows the contentauthor that content 21, in this region, would not be visible on eitherdevice groups 104 and 105 (FIG. 1). Single overlap regions 213 and 214show the content author that content 21, in this region, would not bevisible on device group 105 (FIG. 1), but would be visible on devicegroup 104 (FIG. 1). Thus, not only does common region 215 give thecontent author useful information regarding the visibility of content 21on the target devices, but some of the translucent and overlapped areasalso give the content author information that could be used to decidewhether it is better to create a single piece of content that could beseen on each of the device groups, such as device groups 104 and 105(FIG. 1), or to create multiple sizes for each one individually.

FIG. 2C is a screenshot illustrating content purposing system 20configured according to one embodiment of the present invention havingadded purposing mask 217. After selecting purposing masks 207 and 210,the content author accesses the tools menu again to select the purposingmask that represents PDA 106 (FIG. 1), i.e., purposing mask 217.Purposing mask 217 is then laid on top of purposing masks 207 and 210within IDE 200. Transparent region 219 represents the viewable displayof PDA 106 (FIG. 1) and intersects with and partially obscurestransparent regions 209 and 211 to create common region 218. Underlyingcontent 21 visible through common region 218 represents the part ofcontent 21 that would be seen on all mobile phones 104-105 and PDA 106(FIG. 1).

Once the content author selects and overlays all of the desiredpurposing masks, he or she may either crop content 21 to fit within anyone or all of transparent regions 209, 211, and 219, scale content 21 tofit more of its visual area with any one or all of transparent regions209, 211, and 219, or modify content 21 to rearrange its componentobjects or parts to fit more of the interesting areas within any one orall of transparent regions 209, 211, and 219. Various different fittingedits may be used to modify the purposed content, such as cropping,scaling, shrinking (maintaining the same aspect ratio), non-linearscaling, clipping, extending, extrapolating, and the like.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present inventionillustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, translucent regions 209, 211, and219 have varying degrees of translucency. In terms of graphicrepresentation, the alpha channel level of the translucent regions isneither completely a zero nor 100%. Thus, as the translucent regions arelayered on top of one another, the combined translucency becomes less orthe alpha channel level moves toward 100%. This variation in combinedtranslucency may assist the user in determining what part or parts ofthe content is visible in the transparent regions of the variouspurposing masks.

It should further be noted that in various additional and/or alternativeembodiments of the present invention, the overlapped regions, such assingle overlap regions 212-214, may be presented with specializedvisible cues that prompt or inform the content author with regard to themeaning of the overlap. For example, translucent regions 209, 211, and219 may use different translucent color hues, such that when an overlapoccurs a completely different color is created by the combination of theoverlapping colors of the overlapping translucent regions. Other visualindicators may also be used, such as adding texture or dimensional cuesthat draws visual attention to the overlapped regions.

In some embodiments, the content author can obtain demographic or otherinformation about each of device groups 104, 105, and 106 represented bymasks 209, 211 and 219. This information can be presented as a “pop-up”that appears when a pointer is hovered over the appropriate mask, or canbe a graphical representation of the information. However, otherindicators can be used. In one embodiment, the demographic informationindicates to the content author the number of devices in a specificmarket are associated with the mask (i.e., the number of devices in theNorth American market).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating IDE 300 configured according toone embodiment of the present invention. When creating content destinedfor presentation in multiple target media types or formats, the varioustarget formats may have different presentation variables from otherelectronic formats. Depending on the display resolution of the specifictarget device, the appearance of the content will vary. In theembodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3, IDE 300provides purposing masks that are normalized according to the resolutionof the targeted format or device. Therefore, the size of the mask willvary depending on the resolution of the target media.

For example, IDE 300 displays content 30 within edit region 31. The userhas selected three different masks, masks 301, 304, and 307, to overlayonto content 30. Each of masks 301, 304, and 307 is a different size,representing a different resolution of the associated target format ordevice. Transparent region 302 of purposing mask 301 is sized for adisplay with a resolution of 1280×10²⁴ pixels. Transparent region 305 ofmask 304 is sized for a display with a resolution of 1366×768 pixels.Transparent region 308 of mask 307 is sized for a display with aresolution of only 640×480. When comparing the actual physical size ofthe different electronic displays, their physical dimensions may notdiffer by that much. However, because their pixel size and/or number ofpixels in the resolution may differ substantially, the appearance of thedisplayed content will change from display to display.

In IDE 300, the mask is normalized according to pixel size, which causesmasks 301, 304, and 307 to be of different overall sizes. In comparisonto the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 2A-C, purposing masks 207, 210, and217 are normalized according to the size of the mask itself or designcanvas 201 of IDE 200 leaving variations in the transparent regions toreflect the differences in the visible regions. It should be noted thatin various embodiments of the present invention, an IDE may include afeature that allows the user to toggle between normalizing the mask sizeeither according to pixel-size/resolution or to the design canvas size.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 400 for generating imagecontent for devices according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 5A-5H are screenshots illustrating the placement ofmasks in different frames of a video image according to variousembodiments of the present invention. For purposes of this discussionFIGS. 4 and 5A-5H will be discussed together.

At process 401 an image 500 that is to be converted to the variousformats is loaded into the IDE of the present invention. In oneembodiment, image 500 is loaded as image data 520. The image that isloaded may be a video image or a still image. However, for purposes ofthis discussion image 500 is a video image. However other images can beused. The image is defined by an image content. The image is presentedto the content author through IDE 501.

Once image 500 has been loaded into IDE 501 at process 401 the authorthen obtains a mask 502 representative of a device group, such as devicegroup 104 discussed above, that they wish to modify image 500 to displayon. This is illustrated at process 402. In one embodiment, the mask 502appears on IDE 501 centered on image 500. However, in other embodiments,the content author can pull mask 502 from one of tools 202-205 and placethe mask on image 502 at any desired location in the image.

After the mask 502 has been placed on image 500 the content author canthen manipulate the location of the mask on image 500 such that adesired image view can be obtained. This is illustrated at process 403.The manipulation of the mask can include such manipulations as zoomingin on the image, moving the mask about the image, or any othermanipulation that can be performed. Once mask 502 is in the desiredlocation the content author can define a first cropped image contentfrom the image content of image 500. For purposes of this discussion itwill be assumed that image 500 is being cropped, however, other actionscan be performed. This cropped image can be created by manipulating themask (e.g. zooming, cropping, etc.) to produce edited image data 503. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 5A, the content author is generatingimage content information from a video, image data 520, of a late nighttalk show. The host 510 is illustrated sitting at a desk on a right sideof the image with a guest 512 sitting in a chair or on a couch on theleft side of image. Based on the display properties of the device grouprepresented by mask 502, the content author cannot show both the host,and the guest in the same frame without having to shrink (i.e., zoomout) the image. This shrinking of the image can result in unwanted barlines or an unviewable image for the final image. Therefore, the contentauthor at process 403 moves the mask over the portion of the image thatis occupied by the host 510. At this process the author can also enlargethe image of the host so that the image does not appear to be cropped.

Next, the system automatically crops or otherwise edits the image data520 based on the applied mask. This is illustrated at process 404. Thatis, as a result of the users manipulation of the image data 520 viaapplication of mask 502 (e.g., placement of the mask 502 over thedisplayed image data 520, zooming in within the mask, zooming out within the mask, etc.), the IDE automatically generates edited image data503 corresponding to the resulting editing of image data 520 performedvia such mask 502. The cropping of the image simply removes from theimage content that portion of the image content that is not in the fieldof view of the mask. The cropped image content is stored in a storageunit, such as storage 514 at process 405 as a first cropped image.

Once the first cropped image content has been extracted from image 500at process 404, the content author advances through each of the framesof the image video, to ensure that the mask is appropriate for eachframe of the video. This is illustrated at process 406 as each frameadvances IDE 501 causes a new cropped image to be stored for each frame.If during the review the frames, the location of the mask becomesundesirable (such as action elsewhere in the image), the author can movethe mask in the frame to be located where the action is in the frame.This is illustrated at process 407. In the example above, assume thehost has finished speaking, and now the guest is speaking. The authorthen moves mask 502 such that it is now located over the area of theimage that has the guest. This moved mask is illustrated in FIG. 5B.Again at process 407, the author can make any necessary adjustments tothe image to enhance the viewing image. This new image is edited andstored in storage 514 as a second cropped image. This is shown atprocess 408.

Following the generation of the second cropped image content from image500, the author again monitors the video to determine if another changeto the location of the mask is needed. If so the author repeatsprocesses 406 to 408. This process continues until the image video hasreached the end.

Once the image video has reached its end, the IDE accesses the croppedimage data that has been stored in storage for each frame during thecropping process, and prepares to place it in an appropriate format forthe devices in the device group. To determine the formats associatedwith each device in the device group that the cropped image video mustbe placed in, the IDE access a list of devices associated with thedevice group associated with the mask. From this list of devices, theIDE can create a version of the image video in the correct format foreach of these devices such that the image video can be played on eachdevice in the group. For example, the system would generate one fileformat that is configured for an LG mobile phone, and another fileformat that configured for a video monitor. This is illustrated atprocess 409.

The finished formatted file for each device are then stored in storage516 for later retrieval and transmission to an associated device. Insome embodiments, storage 514 and 516 are the same storage. This isillustrated at process 410. In some embodiments, the associated devicesrequest the specific file format desired from storage 516. In theseembodiments, the associated system provides the requested file to thedevice. In other embodiments, the system determines, based oninformation provided by the device what file format to provide to thedevice.

FIG. 5C illustrates the same image 500 as shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 5Calso, illustrates mask 550 displayed in IDE. Mask 550 represents thedisplay properties of a second device group, such as device group 105.As the display properties of group 105 permit a wider field of view thanshown in group 104, it is possible for mask 550 to remain in locationlonger than mask 502 as most of the action remaining in mask 550.However, for example, a dog 513 runs across the bottom of the image itmay not be visible in mask 550, so the content author would move mask550 to catch the dog moving across the screen. This movement of the maskis illustrated in FIG. 5D. Though now the heads of persons have been cutoff so the author will need to return to the previous mask location. Thereturn of mask 550 to the original location is shown in FIG. 5E.

It should be noted that in some embodiments process 400 can be performedusing multiple masks at one time. FIGS. 5F-5H illustrate a series offrames in image 500 using the multiple masks corresponding to FIGS.5C-5E. Process 400 crops the image for each mask 502, 550 separately,but provides both masks on the display so that the author can see whatis displayed on both device groups at once. This also helps to reducethe amount of time the author needs to spend on generating the variousimages.

The program or code segments making up the various embodiments of thepresent invention may be stored in a computer readable medium ortransmitted by a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, or asignal modulated by a carrier, over a transmission medium. The “computerreadable medium” may include any medium that can store or transferinformation. Examples of the computer readable medium include anelectronic circuit, a semiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flashmemory, an erasable ROM (EROM), a floppy diskette, a compact diskCD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, a fiber optic medium, a radiofrequency (RF) link, and the like. The computer data signal may includeany signal that can propagate over a transmission medium such aselectronic network channels, optical fibers, air, electromagnetic, RFlinks, and the like. The code segments may be downloaded via computernetworks such as the Internet, Intranet, and the like.

FIG. 6 illustrates computer system 600 adapted to use embodiments of thepresent invention, e.g. storing and/or executing software associatedwith the embodiments. Central processing unit (CPU) 601 is coupled tosystem bus 602. The CPU 601 may be any general purpose CPU. However,embodiments of the present invention are not restricted by thearchitecture of CPU 601 as long as CPU 601 supports the inventiveoperations as described herein. Bus 602 is coupled to random accessmemory (RAM) 603, which may be SRAM, DRAM, or SDRAM. ROM 604 is alsocoupled to bus 602, which may be PROM, EPROM, or EEPROM. RAM 603 and ROM604 hold user and system data and programs as is well known in the art.

Bus 602 is also coupled to input/output (I/O) controller card 605,communications adapter card 611, user interface card 608, and displaycard 609. The I/O adapter card 605 connects storage devices 606, such asone or more of a hard drive, a CD drive, a floppy disk drive, a tapedrive, to computer system 600. The I/O adapter 605 is also connected toa printer (not shown), which would allow the system to print papercopies of information such as documents, photographs, articles, and thelike. Note that the printer may be a printer (e.g., dot matrix, laser,and the like), a fax machine, scanner, or a copier machine.Communications card 611 is adapted to couple the computer system 600 toa network 612, which may be one or more of a telephone network, a local(LAN) and/or a wide-area (WAN) network, an Ethernet network, and/or theInternet network. User interface card 608 couples user input devices,such as keyboard 613, pointing device 607, and the like, to the computersystem 600. The display card 609 is driven by CPU 601 to control thedisplay on display device 610.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

1-25. (canceled)
 26. A method comprising: receiving an image;displaying, via a processor of a computing device, a plurality ofpurposing masks simultaneous to displaying said image, said plurality ofpurposing masks overlaid on the image, each of said plurality ofpurposing masks overlapping at least a portion of at least one otherpurposing mask, said plurality of purposing masks representing aplurality of different target formats corresponding to a plurality ofdifferent computing device screens, and wherein each of said pluralityof purposing masks represents a different viewable area of acorresponding computing device screen; and using, via the processor, atleast one of the plurality of purposing masks to create and store atleast one edited image.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein each of saidat least one edited image comprises a portion of said imagecorresponding to one of the plurality of purposing masks.
 28. The methodof claim 26 wherein said image is a video image comprising a pluralityof image frames.
 29. The method of claim 28 further comprising using atleast one of the plurality of purposing masks to create and store atleast one edited image for each of multiple frames of the plurality ofimage frames.
 30. The method of claim 26 further comprising generating aplurality of formatted files from said at least one edited image. 31.The method of claim 26 wherein the image and the plurality of purposingmasks overlaid on the image are displayed in an integrated developmentenvironment.
 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the plurality ofpurposing masks overlaid on the image are adjustable in the integrateddevelopment environment.
 33. The method of claim 32 further comprisingmoving a purposing mask of the plurality of purposing masks in responseto input.
 34. The method of claim 26 wherein a purposing mask of theplurality of purposing masks is representative of a group of deviceshaving a similar screen characteristic.
 35. The method of claim 26further comprising, via the processor, zooming in or zooming out topresent the at least one edited image.
 36. The method of claim 26further comprising, via the processor, cropping the image according to apurposing mask of the plurality of purposing masks to provide an editedimage of the at least one edited image.
 37. A system comprising: atleast one processor; and a memory, wherein the memory embodies programcode of a development tool, the program code comprising program codethat configures the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: receiving an image; displaying a plurality of purposingmasks simultaneous to displaying said image, said plurality of purposingmasks overlaid on the image, each of the said plurality of purposingmasks overlapping at least a portion of at least one other purposingmask, said plurality of purposing masks representing a plurality ofdifferent target formats corresponding to a plurality of differentcomputing device screens, and wherein each of said plurality ofpurposing masks represents a different viewable area of a correspondingcomputing device screen and using at least one of the plurality ofpurposing masks to create and store at least one edited image.
 38. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having computer executableinstructions that when executed cause a computer to execute operationscomprising: receiving an image; displaying a plurality of purposingmasks simultaneous to displaying said image, said plurality of purposingmasks overlaid on the image, each of the said plurality of purposingmasks overlapping at least a portion of at least one other purposingmask, representing a plurality of different target formats correspondingto a plurality of different computing device screens, and wherein eachof said plurality of purposing masks represents a different viewablearea of a corresponding computing device screen; and using, via theprocessor, at least one of the plurality of purposing masks to createand store at least one edited image.